Scene 20 ------------------------------------------- Spirit World/ The Next Morning

Koenma yawns as he enters his office, "ready" to start a bright new day. A red ogre hands him a cup of black coffee then leaves. The godling floats over to where George is working at the tracking station. He hears the blue ogre mumbling curses as he checks a long readout ticker.

Koenma- What is it, George?
George- Something's wrong, sir... Early the other morning we had a fix on Hiei...
Koenma- I remember... I contacted Touya and Jin to go to that location because they were the closest...
George- Well, we had the fix for only a couple minutes... Then it.. disappeared...

Koenma rubs his chin, fighting another yawn.

Koenma- Something may have made him drop it, you're thinking?
George- Yes... if it was Hiei... The signature has disappeared and it's not come back since.

One of Koenma's baby eyebrows twitches.

Koenma- What do you mean 'If it was Hiei'?

Now George looks at his small, but powerful boss, nervously.

George- Uh, w-well, sir...I.. I analyzed it over night... The results said that it wasn't Hiei.. exactly...
Koenma- It's too early for this, George.
George- I'm figuring it was his jagan, sir... Somehow, it must have become unwarded long enough... or been in some kind of.. distress...

Just then the communication signal beeps and George hurries over to hit the button. Koenma turns to his viewscreen as Touya's cold, handsome features appear.

Koenma- Touya,...
Touya- Lord Koenma. Jin and I have found the cave.
Koenma- Go on.
Touya- Lord Hiei was definately here...
Koenma- (Sighs) Was?
Touya- We found a nest, of sorts, inside... Hiei's scent, as well as a similar one, are all over the area. So they were living here...

Touya's green bangs wave gently and he looks to the side. They hear Jin's accented voice giving his report.

Jin- Narry a sign or speck of anyone from up way high, neither.
Koenma- D---!
Touya- There's more, sir. There's a small group of strange scents...
Koenma- So someone else was there?
George- Oh no.
Touya- Yes. But it's puzzling, sir. There's no obvious signs of any kind of battle or attack... No remains of any kind, physical or residual.
Koenma- George says he thinks the signal we detected a few days ago was a distress signal from Hiei's jagan.
Touya- If they were captured, which isn't at all very unlikely in this region, it was an easy one...
Koenma- Well, considering Hiei had just given birth to twins... And his other son being pregnant, also... D--- it, why did Hiei have to run!!?
Touya- We'll continue our search, that's all we can do here, sir... This is a very dangerous area. Rogue gangs of demons wander about everywhere. I've had to irradicate a few myself...
Koenma- Yes. Be careful... One other thing, Touya... I was able to contact you, Jin, and Chu... I got no response from Shishi or Rinku.

Touya glances to the side silently a moment, then he nods.

Touya- Understood, sir. Jin and I will stay together now that we have this lead... Chu's not too far away. We can feel him coming.
Koenma- Yes, stay together now. Good luck, Touya, and do be careful.

The screen goes black. Koenma sips his coffee and thinks as he floats toward his desk slowly.

George- I could try to run a history around that area... But our reception has never been good in that region.
Koenma- See what you can get, George.

The Toddler sinks down into his chair and stares at the triple stacks of paperwork.

Koenma- I hate getting so behind on this... I'm already ready to go back to bed.

His eyes catch a strip of red buried amongst one of the stacks. Curiously, he works the paper out. He has several names of his team's family, friends, and other demons 'red-flagged' for immediate processing. When Koenma sees the name on the death certificate form he whines.

Koenma- Oh no!!

George turns as Koenma hops off the chair with the paper. He heads for the door.

George- Sir?
Koenma- Tell Yusuke to meet me in the West Wing!
George- Who is it, sir?? Hiei?!
Koenma- No... The boy Shinobi, Rinku...

Koenma bursts through the large doors.